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Mela
Petitioner of Clouds Accordant to the Call of Battle The eldest of the Immaculate Dragons, called Resplendent in Perfection, Mela was a mighty warrior. Strong in body, mind, spirit and Essence, Mela taught those around her to settle for no less than personal perfection. A warrior-savant without peer, Mela was the very embodiment of glory. Mela was never content to rest on her laurels, always seeking greater and greater tests for herself. She accepted that glory was the due of the successful and skilled, but she did not seek accolades, for they were ultimately empty. Accolades did not stand between Mela and the Anathema in the dusk of the First Age—only her perfection did. Mela’s battles with the Anathema were many and well lauded. She oft arrived at the forefront of a storm, driving aside the puling, corruptive fi res of the Anathema and blanketing the battlefi eld in cold, pure mists and wind. To Mela, victory was the natural course of events to those who strove the greatest. What foe could hope to equal the challenges that a truly righteous heroine might lay before herself? Mela’s mon is the Transcendent Fan of the Five Winds, a reminder that, while nature brings wind, those who are strong and cunning may bring it for themselves. THE SICKLY WHORE The Antithesis of Mela is the Sickly Whore, who is beauteous and glorious to behold, but who uses that glory for the degradation of self and others. The Sickly Whore collects the accolades that are the favors of her many lovers, allowing the world to use her for pleasure in return for cheap, empty baubles. EMULATING MELA Mortals seek in Mela the drive toward perfection. Mela, who taught men how to wield Essence even though they were not Exalted, believed that in the pursuit of perfection in this lifetime, a man might better prepare his spirit for the time between lives. Mela’s teachings allow men to understand that virtuous action and striving toward perfection give them leave to claim a place closer to the Dragons themselves in the next incarnation. Dragon-Blooded who truly follow Mela understand that glory is hollow and fleeting; only in perfection of oneself and one’s Essence is lasting enlightenment found. The teachings of Mela are considered valuable to Air-aspected Dragon-Blooded, whose mercurial Essence lends to them an air of either extreme focus in one area or useless dilettantism. Going halfway in either direction is unacceptable. The Dragon-Blooded Host should aspire toward perfection in all things. THE PARAGON OF MELA The Paragon of Mela is expected to watch for the signs of war carefully, that the righteous might be ready for it. This duty, which is given the poetic title of “The Eye upon the Horizon,” is one taken very seriously. This does not, however, refer only to actual war, but to any element that might be a danger to the pursuit of enlightenment. The Paragon of Mela takes reports of heresy very seriously, and many of those who are devotees of Mela watch for signs of such. Anything that threatens spiritual perfection is worthy of the attention of the Paragon of Mela. The Paragon of Mela is also expected to be the foremost defender of the faith. Although this has never come to pass, it is she who will act as the Immaculate Order’s general should it be necessary to mobilize the Order to war. The current Paragon of Mela is the youngest of the Paragons, an Air Aspect named Righteous Typhoon. Elevated in the years since the Empress disappeared, Righteous Typhoon believes that the Immaculate Order should take the opportunity of her disappearance to transform all of the Realm into a powerful theocratic nation, with no division between legal and religious laws. She preaches that, in such a nation, a citizen’s foremost concern would be his own enlightenment, rather than the coffers of his masters, and she advocates the use of force in achieving this. Of course, the other Paragons have counseled against this, as has the Mouth of Peace. There does seem to be some measure of support for her growing in some of the more fundamental levels of the Immaculate Order, however.